I’m not enough of a word nerd to sit around reading the dictionary in my spare time, but I do love learning the stories behind how certain words came about. As a historical author, there are many times when I will stop in order to look up a word I want to use to ensure it existed in the 1800s. I’ve learned that there are many words that sound vintage that didn’t come into existence until the 1920s or 1950s.
Sometimes these fact-checking missions turn up some interesting word history. I thought I’d share a couple fun ones I discovered this year.
Sideburns
Sideburns were originally called burnsides. This was in honor of American Civil War general Ambrose Burnside who was famous for his facial hairstyle. The term switched the syllables to form “sideburns” later in the 19th century. I guess this made more sense for hair focused on the “side” of one’s face.
Sideburns can stand alone or be joined by a mustache. I have to admit that I find 19th century facial hair quite fascinating. I’m not ready for my husband to attempt to replicate the styles, but I do enjoy working them into my stories every now and again.
Paraphernalia
From Merriam-Webster:
In current use, paraphernalia is typically encountered in its “equipment” sense, but the word hasn’t always been used in that way. Originally, paraphernalia was property that a married woman owned herself—as opposed to her husband’s property or the dowry she brought to the marriage. Paraphernalia came to English, via Medieval Latin, from Greek parapherna, meaning “bride’s property beyond her dowry” (from para-, meaning “beyond,” and phernē, meaning “dowry”).
I found this so interesting.
Do you enjoy learning the history of words?
If you are married, did you bring any paraphernalia to your marriage?
I brought some bedroom furniture and a pile of books. 🙂
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We love finding new ways to incorporate old words in our writing.
It’s so fun, isn’t it, C.D.? There are some great words that have faded from use that would be great to bring back. 🙂
I would suppose I brought in some savings bonds from my grandmother, and a car! And books, of course, Many, many books.
I bet the car came in very handy, Janice!
I use https://www.etymonline.com (an etymology dictionary) almost every single day when writing an historical. Like you, I have to wonder, *Was that word in use then?* That isn’t the only place I search out words, but it is my starting point.
I use that one a lot, too, Robin. It’s a great resource!
Fascinating! I brought nothing to marriage except college debt. LOL! 🙂
LOL! I brought some of that, too, Becky.
Those are both fascinating! I love the history of words and their usage.
It’s fun to run across something surprising, isn’t it? 🙂
I brought way too much paraphernalia along when I got married! haha Among my things were lots of boxes of books. 🙂
I’m a Word Nerd & love learning new-to-me words. My favorite old word is scurryfunge. That seems to be one we do a LOT of in this household! 😀
What a fabulous word, Lori. I had to look it up. 🙂 It’s so old, though, Merriam-Webster online didn’t even find it. Had to use Google. 🙂
Love learning about paraphernalia! Fascinating.
I thought that was so cool. I never even suspected there was a different historical meaning. 🙂
Love learning about where certain words or phrases came from. I had lots of books to move with me too when I got married. And my daddy let me have a loveseat from our house too. We used it in our first house which was a small 2 bedroom trailer. But it did us for almost 2 years till we bought a house.
Hand-me-down furniture is such a blessing when a couple is starting out on their own. 🙂
So interesting, Karen! I found the history of both words fascinating. I’ve wondered why authors use “side whiskers” in British-set novels and “sideburns” in America. Thanks.